Judges 19:13 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And he said to his young man, "Come and let us draw near to one of these places and spend the night at Gibeah or at Ramah."

NIV: He added, "Come, let’s try to reach Gibeah or Ramah and spend the night in one of those places."

NASB: And he said to his servant, 'Come, and let’s approach one of these places; and we will spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah.'

CSB: "Come on," he said, "let’s try to reach one of these places and spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah."

NLT: Come on, let’s try to get as far as Gibeah or Ramah, and we’ll spend the night in one of those towns.'

KJV: And he said unto his servant, Come, and let us draw near to one of these places to lodge all night, in Gibeah, or in Ramah.

NKJV: So he said to his servant, “Come, let us draw near to one of these places, and spend the night in Gibeah or in Ramah.”

A Levite man traveling with his concubine and a servant (Judges 19:9–12) is on the road as daylight fades. He has decided not to stop in Jebus—later called "Jerusalem" (Judges 1:21)— because it is not an Israelite town. Instead, he tells his servant they will continue another few hours to the north and stop in Gibeah or Ramah for the night. Both were Israelite towns of the tribe of Benjamin.

The Levite apparently thought either of these Israeli settlements would be safer than a city of foreigners. Gibeah was closer, but perhaps he hoped to be able to make it as far as Ramah. This truth is ironically, tragically the opposite: what happens in Gibeah is so gruesome it sparks a civil war within Israel (Judges 19:22; 20:8–10).

Judges 19:11–21 explains how the Levite, his concubine, and his servant came to stay in the Israeli town of Gibeah. The man refuses to stop in the city of Jebus. Instead, they continue after dark to Gibeah. Oddly, no one there is willing to take them in. An older migrant worker sees the group and insists they avoid the square overnight. This parallels the comments Lot made to a pair of angels he encountered in Sodom (Genesis 19:2–7), and for good reason (Judges 19:22). What happens next is one of the most stomach-turning incidents in the entire Bible.

A Levite man travels to reconcile with his runaway concubine. On their way back home, they spend the night in the city of Gibeah, in the home of an old man. The wicked men of the town form a mob, demanding the Levite be handed over to be raped. Instead, the Levite forces his concubine outside; the mob rapes and beats her until sunrise. The Levite finds her body, carries it home, and cuts it into twelve pieces. He sends these pieces throughout Israel. This shocks the entire nation into demanding some action be taken against Gibeah.

This chapter's stomach-turning depravity provides another example of the great wickedness in Israel, in an era when everyone did whatever they wanted to without regard for law or God (Judges 21:25). A mob of rapists murders a Levite man's concubine. He sends pieces of her body throughout the nation. This shocks the people into demanding justice. In the following chapters, the tribe of Benjamin refuses to hand over their guilty members. Israel is plunged into civil war.

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).

Accessed 11/26/2024 10:51:05 PM